


The More You Try Not to Think About It...

by Illume



Series: DE Art Fest [5]
Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Detroit Evolution Artfest (Detroit: Become Human), Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gen, Good Friend Tina Chen, Inspired by Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Chris Miller, Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Pining, Post-Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Pre-Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Pre-Relationship, Spoilers for Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, everyone is bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25436659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illume/pseuds/Illume
Summary: DE Art Fest Day 21: Mutual Pining.Bonus: 5+1Five times Nines and Gavin are caught pining for each other and one time they don't have to.
Relationships: Chris Miller & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Chris Miller & Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Zen Gavin, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: DE Art Fest [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816264
Comments: 2
Kudos: 87





	The More You Try Not to Think About It...

“So,” the voice comes from behind him. “Are we going to talk about this?”

Nines’ shoulders tense, but he keeps looking at the evidence displayed in front of him. That is, until he hears steps approaching and stopping next to him.

He turns around at that, the files gone.

There stands the simulation he has created of his partner.

“What exactly do you think we should talk about?”

The man lifts an incredulous brow, then takes his hands out of his pockets.

“Uhm,” he gestures around them. “About this,” then, he turns his hands at himself. “About me?”

The android’s jaw tenses. He looks into his companion’s eyes for a moment, disapproval clear.

“I’m in the middle of a murder investigation,” his tone is not as angry as he would have expected.

The smile of the other man is an indication that he also noticed the discrepancy.

He looks at that smile and remembers the one he saw a few minutes earlier, when he told Gavin he had managed to save one of his favorite donuts in the break room; such a small thing could make a human light up. It was a smaller smile, with eyes still tired, lines of past frowns still visible. But it was still Gavin’s smile.

“You seem distracted, tin can,” the smile grows.

So much for having a peaceful and quiet place to process his thoughts.

He takes one more look at the man and then turns to start walking through the flower covered halls.

“Could it be related to your attempts at distracting me?”

He can hear the footsteps again, following not too far behind. Now he can be sure that he is not going back to the case any time soon.

“I’m only distracting you,” the voice catches up to him. “Because you refuse to talk about this”

The man places himself in front of him with a small jump.

Nines rolls his eyes with exasperation, but not with malice. A common response that both Gavins seem to elicit from him.

And their reactions to it are likewise similar; a self-sufficient smile. Almost charming, in a way...

He quickly looks down and turns away once more, walking in yet another direction.

“And that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” the man continues to follow behind.

As he keeps walking, he can see the ridiculousness of the situation. He is being chased around in his own head by a recreation he made of his partner. He could just get out of this place and continue working on the case. Even a desk surrounded by noise sounds more peaceful at the moment.

Then he feels the hand on his forearm, gently pulling so he stops and turns around. The grip feels soft, the hand not so much. It’s not an unpleasant texture, but rather a unique one; rough, but purposefully light.

That also reminds him to how Gavin’s skin feels like. His is not quite as delicate; not quite as resolute. The passing touches have never been meant for him, they are always accidental.

He opens his eyes and he’s back in front of his desk. He needs to focus on the case without distractions.

* * *

“Someone looks happy,” her voice comes from behind him.

He jumps a little on his seat (barely noticeable, he likes to think).

“Jesus, Ti!” he says around a mouthful.

She laughs as she rounds the table and sits in front of him.

“So,” she elongates the word. “To what do we owe the company of cheerful Gavin?”

He half glares at her as he swallows the donut he was eating. Then, he motions to the crumbs on the table.

“Nines saved me the last donut,” he motions to the side with his head. “I guess he can be useful, sometimes.”

He smiles, maybe a little wider than he’s comfortable admitting, before covering his mouth with a napkin.

But Tina manages to catch it, and she gives him that look; the look he’s been seeing more and more lately. The look he absolutely knows will make him bury his face in the case for the rest of the day.

“So,” she starts again. “It’s a who that’s responsible for happy Gavin.”

A look that always makes him think about things he would very much like to ignore.

Things like how proud of himself Nines looked when he gave him that stupid donut. Or how it almost didn’t bother him at all. Maybe it had been nice, the way he had smiled in a non-sarcastic way before leaving to review the case. Maybe it had also been nice to have felt the impulse to reach for Nines before he left the break room and ask him to stay and talk.

Or maybe it was just a fucking donut and he should get to work.

Damn, that look of Tina’s is not good for him.

“Yeah, uhm,” he says as he stands up. “Gotta go solve a murder.”

He doesn’t even look directly at her before bolting out of the room.

And, well, “out of the pan and into the fire” as they used to say. Nines is at his desk, quickly going through the evidence files.

Gavin sighs and looks at his partner’s profile for just one moment. Then he walks forward, ready for another healthy round of banter that will not have him overthinking later.

Tina has to stop giving him that look.

* * *

“Case closed,” the man says from where he lays on the bench. “Congratulations!”

Nines turns to look at him with a small smile.

The man has a single eye open and a full grin. The kind of grin he can only see here.

“Does that mean that we can talk about this?” he says as he sits up.

The smile leaves Nines’ face and he turns slightly away, but he decides that running away again is useless.

Gavin Reed: exasperating him, even inside his own head.

The man joins his side and, with his gentle touch, he makes him turn around.

“Listen,” he says as he sticks his hand in his pockets. “You keep saying that this ‘simulation’ is supposed to help your working relationship with Gavin.”

Nines has to look away, already aware of the direction this conversation is taking.

It has been working. Gavin’s presence both in and outside of his mind has helped him fulfill his new purpose; it also has been helpful for his understanding of the things around him that he sometimes fails to grasp.

But he knows that it is not just that, not anymore.

He has begun to work inside of his head more frequently. A place where he can talk to a Gavin that not only seems happier, but also seems...closer.

“This,” the man gestures to himself, and then between them. “It all has become more like a daydream,” he gives him a half smile as he reaches for his hand. “A very high-definition, realistic daydream.”

Nines looks at their hands together. There is always something off about this touch. It’s almost too unrealistic; almost too hopeful.

Maybe it’s because he can’t possibly expect this from the man outside of his head. Maybe he is indeed making this a sort of daydream.

This place has slowly become one where Gavin smiles and laughs, where there is no heaviness as he walks or speaks. A place where he can see the man happy. A place where he can feel like he is part of that happiness.

* * *

“If it isn’t detective Reed,” her voice comes from behind him, again.

He has to remember to stop sitting with his back to the door.

Tina sits on the stool next to his and looks at him.

Oh, shit. Not again.

“You know,” she gently pushes his shoulder. “It’s becoming quite the habit to find you sitting alone with your head in the clouds.”

He scoffs at that and takes a swig of his beer.

Perhaps, if he keeps quiet, she will change directions and the look will go away.

“Congratulations on solving the case,” she says after a few seconds. “At this rate, Nines and you are going to become...”

Not the best plan, apparently.

“If you say ‘a power couple’, Ti, I swear,” he says as he drags a hand through his face.

He also has to remember to change bars when he absolutely doesn’t want anyone to bring up his partner; his working partner, that is.

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘more famous than Hank and Connor’,” she says cautiously.

Well, talk about putting your foot in your mouth.

He can already see Tina’s sympathetic smile in the corner of his eye.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asks as she squeezes his shoulder to get his attention.

That is the most obvious question, with the most obvious answer. No, he doesn’t want to talk about it; he doesn’t even want to think about it.

Stupid android with his stupid face and his stupid smile. He just had to come up to him with such a bright smile and smug tone to “congratulate” him on the case they solved together.

And Gavin! Gavin just had to play it so cool by patting the android on the shoulder and almost grabbing his hand accidentally.

He managed to snap out of it and pretend he had meant to shake his hand. Not awkward at all.

Gavin absolutely doesn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he opts to lower his forehead onto the table.

He really has to stop thinking about Nines in any other way that is not as a partner; again, a work partner.

He also has to stop being a weirdo by constantly reaching to grab the other’s hand any time they get too close.

* * *

Nines has been staring at the empty desk for a few minutes already, trying to come to terms with the entire tiruation.

That is, until Chris Miller approaches him.

“You okay, Nines?” he asks while tilting his head.

The android is aware that he has been there for too long. The precinct is nearly empty at this hour and he has been free to go for almost half an hour.

Still, so many things about this situation are still bothering him, and he doesn’t feel like he’s capable of dealing with any of them.

“Chris,” he turns to look at the man. “You are married.”

In any other occasion, one that didn’t had him thinking of asking for advice from one of Gavin’s best friends, Nines would have realized how strange it really is that he waits for an answer to that statement.

“I-,” the man looks even more confused than before “Yes, Nines, I am.”

The android nods once and tries to come up with a wording that won’t alert the man of what he is thinking, or who he is thinking about.

“How do you know for sure when you are...interested in someone?” he asks, trying to appear analytical.

The question clearly catches Chris off guard, and the android begins thinking of an excuse.

He can always resort to the naive curiosity Connor has made them accustomed to. The one thing he is sure he cannot do is tell the truth.

He can’t tell Chris that he has been trying to understand how he could possibly find himself feeling something for Gavin Reed and, more importantly, trying to figure out how to stop.

“I think you kinda just know,” the answer comes hesitantly. “You can feel a connection with them. And, like, finding yourself reaching for something in them.”

That is, surprisingly, not helpful. Nines is trying to rationalize away any non-professional thought he could have regarding his partner. Instead, he finds himself thinking of how many times he has thought that Gavin’s fingers were so close to his. He thinks about the times he has wanted to run his fingers through the other’s hair.

No matter how long, he just can’t rationalize this away.

“Uhm,” Chris catches his attention again. “I’m going to meet Tina and Gavin for a drink,” he gestures at his phone. “Do you want to come?”

This is probably the worst time for him to accept the invitation. But he is very certain that it won’t get better any time soon.

He can join them, if only to get a closer look at the stirring feeling he has whenever Gavin smiles at him.

And no one has to know.

* * *

Nines can feel the soft breathing near his shoulder. He looks down at his lap and makes circles with his thumb on the man’s knuckles, almost as if to make sure those are really their hands. They are.

A deep sigh comes from his companion and he turns to look at the top of his hair.

“Hey, tin can,” his voice sounds rough with sleep. “Are you even watching the movie?”

That makes him smile.

“Yes, meat sack,” he whispers. “I am.”

The man laughs quietly at his response.

Gavin will probably fall asleep in a couple of minutes, and he will insist on restarting the movie the next day. But Nines doesn’t dare to comment on that at the moment. He just kisses his partner’s hair and makes sure that he is as comfortable as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the idea of Chris being a really nice and supportive friend, while having absolutely no clue about what Nines is talking about.


End file.
